Recommended baby sites?

February 20, 2007 5:14 AM

My wife and I are expecting our first child soon, and I've been looking for a site that would allow us to post photographs, videoclips, maybe a journal/blog, etc., and then allow family members/friends to log-in and view them. Has anyone used such a site they'd recommend strongly?

A quick google search turned up dozens of examples, but most were awful - MySpace-like design, poor usability, intrusive banner ads, etc.

Ideally, I'd like to find a site that focuses on simplicity - just the few functions I really need - and an elegant, minimalist design, and usable enough that even my grandparents could find their way thru it.

Many thanks in advance!

posted by stuehler to computers & internet (16 comments total)

Vox is a blog system (from Six Apart) that allows for uploading of photos, videos, etc. There are lots of privacy level settings (neighbors, friends, family, etc.) that can be applied to posts (or to images, videos) so you can control who sees what once they log in and you identify what you want their relationship to you to be.
posted by mikepop at 5:41 AM on February 20, 2007

Vox has worked out really well for us. There are various well designed minimalist skins and you can make it as private as you like. It's free, ad-free, and very intuitive and simple and clean. Good luck (and congratulations).
posted by melissa may at 5:42 AM on February 20, 2007

How about Vox? It's free. Offers picture and movie uploading, the ability to set privacy on your posts, and the design options won't give you epileptic seizures.
posted by nita at 5:42 AM on February 20, 2007

Wow...and to think I was just about to suggest Vox...
posted by Jimbob at 5:46 AM on February 20, 2007

Heh. Quadruple jinx! (Also for added metafiltery goodness, Vox was developed by a mefite's company. Obviously things are working out well.)
posted by melissa may at 5:47 AM on February 20, 2007

Honestly? I've found (after playing with all sorts of things) is a combination of Flickr, Google Video and ... Livejournal.

Google Video will imbed video just like YouTube, but has a handy "keep this private" checkbox that will prevent your video from being indexed.

On Flickr, there is a feature called "Hide this photo from public searches" that I use rather than making photos private. Or, if you prefer, you can make all the photos you upload private and then grab the URL (from the "see different sizes" page) and just plug it into your LJ post.

Then your friends/family can simply creat LJ accounts and see what you've created. Yes, its kind of a three step process, and I know that LJ isn't "cool" anymore (perhaps you could do the same combo with Vox if you need more of a cool factor), but I particularly like the fact that I can post both to Flickr and LJ via my phone, which comes in handy for "remembering" things on the fly.
posted by anastasiav at 5:49 AM on February 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

.... and now I feel like a total dork ..... what with the chorus of "Vox" that came in while I was typing my long reply.
posted by anastasiav at 5:51 AM on February 20, 2007

As a Vox alternative, I'm happy with SmugMug. No ads, nice folks, design options range from cutesy to classy to minimalist. Not free, but not expensive, either, and I like that you get your own simple URL (whatever.smugmug.com) instead of a long cumbersome address.
posted by desuetude at 6:07 AM on February 20, 2007

No one has menitoned it yet, but I'll recommend Vox.
posted by Argyle at 6:08 AM on February 20, 2007

I've never tried Vox, but my not-super-computer-literate friend uses babysites and she and her very-not-computer-literate family like it a lot.
Plus, entrance to the site is password protected.
posted by j at 7:50 AM on February 20, 2007

vox populi!
posted by Abiezer at 7:57 AM on February 20, 2007

I'd say Livejournal or Vox would be the way to go.
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:59 AM on February 20, 2007

Vox
posted by The Michael The at 8:27 AM on February 20, 2007

Vox?
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2007

Actually, it's more this mefite's company, but we're definitely appreciative for all the Vox love. And yep, this is one of the specific things Vox was designed for. Stuehler, hope to welcome you to the community. :)
posted by anildash at 12:47 PM on February 20, 2007

Was going to recommend Vox, but it's obviously already here, and with good reason. The look and layouts are clean, it's very user-friendly, and there are a lot of steps to ensure privacy.
posted by cmgonzalez at 2:30 PM on February 20, 2007